Submissions Now Open For Fall Term Theater Resources Unlimited Producer Development & Mentorship Program

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) has announced that applications are open for the fall term of the Producer Development & Mentorship Program. The program consists of two different producing courses plus mentorship opportunities that are available to producers and artists who are interested in taking a deep dive into the modern world of commercial and non-profit producing. 

The program will be led by Tony award winning producer Jane Dubin (Is This a Room, Dana H., The Prom, Tony winning The Norman Conquests, Farinelli and the King, Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher and An American in Paris; plus off-Broadway Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, The 39 Steps, Ann) and Tony nominated producer Blair Russell (Slave Play, Lizard Boy, For Tonight, Sweeney Todd off-Broadway).

The two classes, held virtually, include the basic Foundations Class taught by Russell, that is open to producers and artists at every level of experience; and the more advanced Master Class taught by Dubin that is open to Foundations alumni, and more experienced artists and producers looking to advance active projects. Topics covered in the courses include development pathways, budgets, raising money, pitching your project, and more. Guests lecturers in the course include Broadway producers, general managers, marketing firms, and entertainment attorneys.

Personalized mentorships are also offered to all program participants where they will be able to meet with professional producers on a one-to-one basis to help advance their projects and careers. Applications are due September 1st. For more information, or to apply please visit https://truonline.org/tru-event-category/pdmp/ for full schedule and curriculum.

“The TRU PDMP Foundations and Master Classes have been essential to my journey as an artist and finally seeing my work up on stage. From learning about the industry through lectures and outside speakers, the cohort of classmates who become champions and friends, to learning how to network and build a team. The most important thing I learned? How to talk about my work.” ~Nico Juber (Millennials Are Killing Musicals)

TRU's Producer Development & Mentorship Program, created in collaboration with 4-time Tony winning producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld (Letters from Home, The Heidi Chronicles, Rocky, All the Way, The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, The Exonerated) offers ongoing support and education for producers at all levels of experience. The program consists of two courses:

The 2023 Fall FOUNDATIONS CLASS will be led by Blair Russell. The Foundations Course offers a basic but thorough overview of the major business aspects of producing at every level. The course is specifically useful to emerging and returning producers, and artists interested in either self-producing or learning more about how they can effectively build relationships to producers and theaters.

“I am so grateful I was introduced to the TRU PDMP Foundations and Master Classes. I got to work alongside exciting artists, creators and producers who helped pave the way for the off-Broadway production of my show last fall.” ~Markus Ferraro (Ximer)

The 2023 Fall MASTER CLASS will be led by Broadway producer Jane Dubin. It offers an in-depth and personalized approach to producing focusing on your own project, including a private consultation. The focused class is limited to 10 students who will complete a semester long program of training and pracitcal application to their current project. MASTER CLASS is open for graduates of the Foundations Class, with limited openings for people who have taken previous TRU workshops, or the Commercial Theatre Institute 14-week course, or a combination of other CTI courses. The Masterclass will meet Monday nights once or twice a month from October to February 2024. 

“Thank you all for the wonderful experience I had in the Master Class. It brought me to the next level of functioning in this business. Without this class I doubt I could be moving forward with [my off-Broadway show].” ~Kenneth Berry (Oh Soledad!)

Jane Dubin is a Tony Award-winning producer and the President of Double Play Connections, a theatrical production and management company committed to supporting emerging artists and playwrights in the creation and development of new works. Jane is a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute's 14-week (NYC) and O'Neill Center Intensive (CT) Producing Workshops. Upcoming: The Village of Vale. Previously: Is This A Room, Dana H., The Prom (Drama Desk Award Best Musical), Farinelli and the King (starring Mark Rylance, nominated for 5 Tony Awards), An American in Paris (4 TONY Awards, plus London and National Tour), Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Westside Theater and on Tour), Ann starring Holland Taylor (Lincoln Center); Bandstand (Broadway), Beebo Brinker Chronicles (2008 GLAAD Media Award for Theatre); Groundswell (The New Group), Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tour), winner of 5 TONY Awards; The Norman Conquests (TONY Award, Best Play Revival), The 39 Steps (OB, Tour); The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (London) and the one-woman show that started it all, MentalPause by Margaret Liston. Film: Radium Girls. 

Blair Russell is a Tony-nominated producer, developer, educator and lover of theater and live performance whose experience ranges from fringe festivals to Broadway shows (Slave Play, Lizard Boy, For Tonight, Sweeney Todd off-Broadway). His most recent projects include on Broadway Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, Off -Broadway Lizard Boy by Justin Huertas, in the West End a concert presentation of the new musical For Tonight by Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams, and the concept recordings of TikTok sensation EPIC the Musical which has over 75 million streams on Spotify. Blair is currently Co-President of the Board of New York Theatre Barn, Vice Chair of the Board of The New Harmony Project, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Goodspeed Musicals. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Technical Theatre/Stage Management.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. Membership includes self-Producing Artists as well as career producers and theater companies.  

TRU publishes an email community newsletter of services, opportunities and productions; presents weekly Community Gatherings; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and also presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, Writer-Producer Speed Date, Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.   Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Montage Foundation, The Storyline Project and the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation.

For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit truonline.org.

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